Bad Religion Returning To New Zealand In December

Legendary California punks Bad Religion are returning to Aotearoa this summer, celebrating this year's release of their seventeenth studio album (!) Age of Unreason with a headbanging headline slot at Tāmaki Makaurau Storm The Gates festival. Still fronted by singer Greg Graffin, who co-founded the group all the way back in 1980, Bad Religion's influence extends across an entire generation of skate-loving / system-defying artists. The Epitaph Records mainstays will be joined by Australian Big Day Out staples Frenzal Rhomb and Melbourne punk veterans Bodyjar for one night of hard-hitting guitars and more-relevant-than-ever politically charged anthems – here's the details...

Storm The Gates
Bad Religion w/ Frenzal Rhomb, Bodyjar
Wednesday 4th December – Eventfinda Stadium, Auckland
Tickets available from 12.00pm Tuesday 8th October

Check out the classic clip for Bad Religion's anthem 'American Jesus' from 1993's Recipe For Hate...

Press release:

New Zealand get ready! Storm The Gates is returning Down Under with a line-up of 80s/90s punk ‘n’ rock royalty designed to blow your mind!

Bad Religion, Frenzal Rhomb and Bodyjar will perform back-to-back at the famed festival, which will be held at Eventfinda Stadium on Auckland’s North Shore on Wednesday, December 4. Doors open at 7.00pm.

Headlining Storm The Gates is acclaimed Los Angeles punk rockers Bad Religion whose numerous hits include ‘21st Century (Digital Boy)’.

The band emerged in California’s hardcore punk scene in the early 1980s. With countless albums and world tours to their name; as well as a number of line-up changes (but with frontman Greg Graffin still at the helm), Bad Religion has continued to deliver their iconic fast and melodic sound. They’ve also steadfastly advocated for humanism, reason, and individualism.

Today, as these values are in decline, and nationalism and bigotry are on the rise, the band’s message has never been more essential. It’s a message that comes through loud and clear on their recently-released album AGE OF UNREASON. The record delivers a powerful and inspired rejoinder - a political and deeply personal treatise on all Bad Religion believe in.

Joining them is irreverent Australian punk unit Frenzal Rhomb. They formed in Sydney in the early 1990s before going on to take the ARIA Album charts by storm with 1999’s A MAN’S NOT A CAMEL; 2011’s SMOKO AT THE PET FOOD FACTORY and 2017’s HI-VIS HIGH TEA. The band has toured the world and back home on Australian soil, they have supported the likes of The Offspring, NOFX, Blink 182 and the festival’s headliners Bad Religion.

Frenzal Rhomb has gone through a number of line-up changes over the years, but lead vocalist Jason Whalley still serves as the band's sole constant member.

Completing the line-up is one of the most revered punk bands Australia has ever produced! Bodyjar have come a long way since forming in the Melbourne suburbs over 20 years ago.

Graduating from pub stages during the worldwide 90s punk boom, Bodyjar went on to tour the globe several times over with many of the era's most respected acts, and appeared on festivals like the Vans Warped Tour and Big Day Out, collecting fans at all stops on their rise. The band took a break from touring and recording in 2005 until 2013 before returning with their eighth album ROLE MODEL.